Iain Baird

Still Available

$3,700 US plus S&H

Sale pending.....

I was linked to this article earlier today by another quote from the Studio Exec but found this part to be even more troubling

“We are spending too much time trying to place blame on a horrific accident."

WHAT??? Should they just close the book on it then? Whether production was to blame for this tragedy or not, something went horribly wrong and that IS someones fault. Why on earth wouldn't you want to turn over every stone for the answers? It's not about blame, it's about understanding how this could have happened and perhaps that understanding can prevent it from ever happening again.

IB

I know there has been a lot of talk about this monitor over the last few months - mostly that it's not everything some people expected it to be. I have to say I was/am one of the people who purchased it and was surprised by a few of the glitches that presented and I'm still hopeful that they can all be sorted. But the truth is about the Gen 2 is that it's view-ability is fantastic and ultimately when the chips are down and the sun is shining, that's the most important factor for any monitor on your Sled. With the addition to my kit of a Blackmagic Up/Down/Cross converter I can now use ANY signal from any camera and that has me once again comfortable with my decision in buying the Cinetronic.

IB

I'll add one PAM mounting kit with a 15mm arm for the DM2.....

All the pieces you need (except motor mounts) to get you started on a 2 motor system. This system is about 13 Years old and has the obvious wear that comes with it's age but it has been well cared for and still works great. The Focus knob is still super smooth and the motors work perfectly.

The System comes with .....

MDR1 & HU1 with spare antennae for each

DM1 Motor & DM2 Motor

Omnishot Power Bracket w/4 batteries and Charger

PRO power and 4pinXLR Power cable

Arri, Panavision and RED Start/Stop Cables

2 Motor Cables

8 Focus Rings

Asking $6,000 US plus S&H

IB

$3,800 US plus S&H

This sells for $6,900 new

IB

Without any real knowledge how its done I'll chime in here.

My friend is an ENG reporter with a local news station, he drives one of those trucks decaled out with station logos that you see all around YOUR town (in this case, MY town) In the back he has all of his batteries sitting on charging docks - keeping charged for those 24-7 calls that come in. What system they are using I don't know but I do know that there is some inverter/converter setup in his truck that keeps his batteries ready to go, on the go.

IB

I haven't been able to contact Rebotnix via mail, telephon or facebook. I left a message on the answer machine, but still no reply

These are all very good reasons NOT to buy one!!

IB

Thanks Lawrence, I've put a question in to Preston about their brackets and I'll post here what I find out.

I had the PRO bracket on my MDR for years and since the MDR lived on the Steadicam full time I never had an issue with it. But over the last few years with DP's wanting iris control and more and more AC's using the Preston for every mode an MDR needs to be on the camera at ALL times, not just for Steadicam. For this reason I've switched my mount on my sled and MDR to a V-mount system. I have a Betz top stage now so I machined a mating plate for the Element Technica V-mount and my Betz MDR mount.

Element Techinica has mounting hardware for all sorts of positions on the camera and so the MDR can remain built and plugged in but it's position can easily be moved to multiple locations on the camera - including my sled. So far it's been very handy for switching back and forth from Studio to Steadicam mode with little fuss.

IB

I got this one from Preston that mounts the MDR right side up. They told me Jack no longer wishes to make a similar bracket. Perhaps PRO continues to make the bracket that mounts to the bottom of the MDR 3, I don't know.

MDR 3 bracket.jpg

The version in the Preston document I was looking was a V-mount shoe system, which would work nicely for me. Do you know if they have an upright version of that mount yet?

IB

$350 takes the lot - close to the value of all of the connecters!!

IB

Make me an offer on the Up Converter......

IB

I've been using this exclusively for low mode for the last few years after getting a FM vest. It has both front and back mounting and served me well for both before I bought a PRO vest. I switched because I wanted something with a smaller profile. There is a spacer that can be removed as I tended to fluctuate in size depending on craft and catering quality. I'm 6' and range from 190-220lbs.

$4,000 US plus S&H

IB

Up converter is still available

I'll second that praise for the Cinetronic Image. For all of the Trumpeting of the few shortcomings it's sometimes forgotten how GREAT the image is. This has recently been hammered home for me as I just sent my Gen 2 in for the heatsink upgrade and have been using my old Ultrabright in the meantime. First shot up with the old monitor required a serious tilt up at the opening and a tilt down to finish and there was no angle I could set the monitor at where I could see for the whole shot - I never had any problems, in any environment or any shooting circumstance seeing the image with the GEN 2!

IB

Thanks for the info gentlemen - good to know.

I look forward to taking it for a test drive.

IB

*Not ALL Blackmagic Mini Converters will take more than 12v* You can look on the website on the comparison page and it will tell you what the tolerances of each are.

The SDI to Analog Downconverter still wants just 12v.

IB

Sorry Josh, just seeing this now.

In short - I removed the internal battery to allow room for the new plugs, for my purposes the internal battery is unnecessary. I soldered the co-ax leads from each jack directly into the mother board where the mini dins are connected. The LEMO has a feed going directly to the 2 pins on the PRO mount and a 12v regulated feed soldered onto the motherboard - this time where the DC jack is connected. The switch controls the power feed to the Hyperdeck as I don't want it on all of the time.

IB

Sale Pending on up converter.....

Decimator has SOLD

Up-Converter is still available. The converter has a 12v regulator built in so will work with 12-32v.

$125 for the Decimator

$200 for the Up-converter

IB

SOLD

Two things in this thread have come to mind for me

One is the distasteful behavior by a few members over what was NOT in my view a hijack - someone show where me Terry was advertising his business or promoting his services and I'll change my opinion on this.

The other is more to the point that Terry started with - Should he take work from the low end of the quality spectrum?

As a freelancer I charge a certain rate for my services, I don't question the quality of the production offering me the work if they meet my requested rate - Bad Writing, Bad Actors, Bad Director....WHATEVER. Are they paying my rate? When I'm busy and have a few offers at once obviously my criteria for choosing work has more variables, including comparing the before mentioned departments. But if you are paying what I'm asking it's not up to me to question the quality of all the other choices you are making - show me the money (it's not like we get points)

IB